Toronto Life’s annual Best Dressed (or Most Stylish) party celebrating the latest issue of Stylebook is always great for people-watching and is a perfect kick-off to TIFF. This year, the glitzy soiree was held at the Trump Hotel, spanning two floors, several food and dessert stations, live-sketching, cold-pressed juices, photo-booth, and so much more. Attendees showed off their finest outfits, preening for photographers, mingling at the donut photo wall, and resting on comfy couches.

After eating all of the chorizo and cheese, my friend and I went upstairs to explore some more, had sketches drawn of us, and chatted with some party-goers. My fave outfit of the night went to Stacey McKenzie in a stunning lacey jumpsuit, that I’m pretty sure no mortal should ever wear, but she rocked the hell out of. Dean and Dan Caten were also there, hanging out with Greta Constantine’s Kirk Pickersgill.

We leafed through the new glossy Stylebook, learning about stylish city denizens, as well as seeing a few familiar faces. I have to say, the issue keeps getting better, year after year! Can’t wait to see what the next one will bring!

Earlier this month, Canada’s brightest fashion industry talents gathered at Fairmont Royal York Hotel’s ballroom for one big reason – CAFA, otherwise known as the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards – the inaugural edition. Held for the very first time, CAFA Gala was a huge deal, and though I usually tend to avoid big fancy bashes, with a star-studded guest list that included DSQUARED‘s Dean and Dan Caten, Coco Rocha, and Mads Mikkelsen, attending this one was a no-brainer, especially when the lovely folks from Swarovski offered to “frost” me with their sparkliest baubles! Thanks to my blogger bestie Sharon, we got to join TeamSwarovski at their table, joined by the beauties from Power of Privé, adorable actress Elisha Cuthbert, Emerging Talent Award winner Sarah Stevenson, and other amazing people. For the occasion, I wore my new Erdem dress from The Room, which was fitting since Erdem Moralioglu was one of the nominees. I also got to wear a beautiful vintage Mary Katrantzou for Swarovski cuff that was simply stunning.

The award show was very well-produced, and at times actually made me tear up, like when Jeanne Beker’s Vanguard Award was presented, followed by the loveliest of video montages, showing the most memorable moments from the Canadian Icon’s lengthy career, from her earliest days at MuchMusic, to her most jaw-dropping FashionTelevision reels. As I watched Canadian designers, stylists, photographers, models and other industry professionals on that CAFA stage, I could feel their happiness and excitement fill the room. With so many talented Canadians in this industry, spending the evening honouring some of them for their achievements felt great.

After the awards, the winners and the rest of us moved on to the after-party, where we danced to “What Does The Fox Say”, watched Bite lipsticks being made, hijacked a photobooth, and actually got to check out the CAFA trophies – shoe-shaped and very heavy. As someone who doesn’t stay out late very often, I was shocked to realize that it was past 1am when I finally decided to call it a night and head home. Yup, I’m a grandma and not even embarrassed to admit it; but some things are really worth sticking around for. I truly had the best time at this year’s CAFA Gala, here’s hoping that next year it’s going to be even more spectacular (perhaps with more monetary prizes for the winners?). I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

WHAT I WORE

WHO IS NELIA?

Nelia Belkova is a Toronto-based fashion and lifestyle blogger by night and a financial analyst by day. She loves to travel, read gossip sites, eat sweets, and cuddle up to her husband and her cat on the couch. Read More…